Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Another Antiochus IV Epiphanes was king in Commagene under Caligula and Claudius.

Coin of Antiochus IV. Reverse shows Apollo seated on an omphalos. The Greek inscription reads ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ (Antiochus, image of God, bearer of victory).

Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Επιφανής, Greek: Manifest), originally named Mithradates, but renamed Antiochus either upon his ascension or after the death of his elder brother Antiochus (c.215B.C.E. - 163 B.C.E., reigned 175B.C.E. - 163B.C.E.), was one of the Seleucid emperors, son of Antiochus III the Great (224 - 187) and brother of Seleucus IV Philopator (187-75) The Seleucid's ruled the area known as Asia' (Babylon, Syria, Palestine, Upper Asia) from 312, when Alexander the Great's empire was divided among his generals.

Succession

Antiochus took power after the death of Seleucus Philopator. He had been hostage in Rome following the peace of Apamea in 188 B.C.E. but had recently been exchanged for the son and rightful heir of Seleucus IV, the later Demetrius I of Syria (. Taking advantage of this situation, Antiochus was able to proclaim himself as co-regent with another of Seleucus' sons, the infant Antiochus, whose murder he orchestrated a few years later.

War with Egypt

Antiochus IV was ambitious and wanted to expand both his territory and influence. He was able to make some inroads into Egypt, ruled by the Ptolemies. In 168B.C.E. he almost succeeded in conquering Egypt but was prevented from doing so as a result of Roman intervention. The Seluecids gernerally continued Alexander's policy of cultural integration but Antiochus IV was more interested in Hellenizing his subjects. He was especially eager to Hellenize the Jews, who resisted the process and he started to use force to pursue this policy. His father has excempted the Jews from the Hellenizing policy. This led to the beginning of the Jewish revolt of the Maccabees. He was succeeded by his infant son, Antiochus V Eupator.

Because the guardians of Ptolemy VI of Egypt were demanding the return of Coele-Syria, Antiochus, in 170 B.C.E. decided on a preemptive strike and invaded Egypt, conquering all but Alexandria. He then captured Ptolemy but agreed to let him continue his puppet king. This had the advantage of not alarming Rome. Alexandria thereupon chose Ptolemy's brother Ptolemy VIII (Ptolemy Euergetes) as King. In Antiochus' absence, the two brothers came to an agreement to rule jointly. Hence in 168B.C.E. Antiochus again invaded and overran all Egypt but Alexandria while his fleet captured Cyprus. Near Alexandria he was met by a Roman envoy who told him that he must at once withdraw from Egypt and Cyprus. Antiochus said he would discuss it with his council, whereupon the envoy drew a line in the sand round him. Were he to step out of the circle, the envoy said, without having first undertaken to withdraw , he would be at war with Rome. Antiochus agreed to withdraw.

In a spirit of revenge he organized an expedition against Jerusalem, which he subdued, putting vast multitudes of its inhabitants to death in a most cruel manner. From this time the Jews began the war of independence under their Maccabean leaders with marked success, defeating the armies of Antiochus that were sent against them. Enraged at this, Antiochus is said to have marched against them in person, threatening utterly to exterminate the nation; but on the way he was suddenly arrested by the hand of death (164 B.C.E.). The exact causes of the Jewish revolt, and of Antiochus' response to it, are uncertain; the Jewish accounts are in the Books of Maccabees, and the successful revolt is commemorated by the holiday of Hanukkah. His last years were spent on a campaign against the rising Parthian empire on his eastern border, which seems to have been initially successful but which terminated upon his death.

The reign of Antiochus was a last period of strength for the empire, but in some way it was fatal; because he was an usurper and left no successor except a little boy, his death was followed by devastating dynastic wars.

Antiochus and the Jews

Antiochus regarded himself as Zeus (hence his title, epiphanes, manifestation of), the Greek God. He gave livishly to Greek temples, including the Temple of Zeus in Athens. His self-view as the supreme God meant that he saw himself as having power over all the religions in his realm. He thus tried to systematically change the traditions of the Jews, based on the laws of Moses, to make them conform to Greek beliefs. He built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, where instead of learning their ancient law, the priests engaged in wrestling contests in the Greek fashion, which meant they were naked. Those who were circumcised endeavoured to hide this. Antiochus' program of Hellenization many even have involved altering the scriptures by, for example, introducing Greek cosmology was introduced into the Hebrew scriptures. Texts say that anyone caught reading the Torah were punished, even killed, Sabbath observation was abolished and circumcison banned on pain of death.

Antiouchus' influence was strengthenes because of rivalry among contenders for the High Priesthood in Jerusalem. A contest for power between Onias III and Jason resulted in the former setting up a rival Temple at Heliopolis in Egypt and the latter becoming High Priest. By cooperating with Antiochus, Jason (which was the Greek name he adopted)was able to remain in office until 172B.C.E. However, while Antiochus was campaigning in Egypt, a faction of the Jewish leadership succeeded in deposing Jason, sending him into exile. Other sources say that Antiochus engineered the change of High Priest because his successor, Menelaus (a non practicing Jew) promised more tribute and to speed the Hellenization process. Many Jews already saw the High Priesthood as too compromised to maintain their respect. Jason was able to re-take the office in 168B.C.E. Jason, however, now fell from imperial favor as Antiochus thought he was conspiring against him.

In 167B.C.E. or 168B.C.E. Antiochus marched to Jerusalem, slew Jason and dedicated the Temple to Zeus, errecting an image of Zeus in his own likeness on the altar, and, according to some sources, sacrifed a pig in the Temple. This is known to Jews as the 'great desecration'. The Temple's sacred treasures were robbed. He destroyed many buildings and re-built the city as a Seluecid fortress. Sources are confused about exactly when the desecration took place. Most have Antiochus visiting Jerusalem twice, perhaps as early as 166B.C.E. for the first and as late as 169B.C.E. for the second. Josephus describes him as robbing on both occassions.

The Jewish Revolt

The revolt began in the year 165B.C.E. when Mattathias, a priest, first kiled a fellow priest who performed a pagan sacrifice in the Temple, then the Greek official who had ordered him to do so. Mattathias fled Jerusalem with his five sons (known as the Maccabees) where, joined by many pious Jews, he started a guerrilla was against the Seluecids. The war continued against Antiochus IV's successors until 165B.C.E. when Jerusalem was taken, the Temple restored and quasi-independence under Roman protection was achieved. The feast of Hanukkha marks the restoration and the victory of the Maccabees.

Preceded by: Seleucus IV Philopator

Seleucid King 175–163 B.C.E.

Succeeded by: Antiochus V Eupator {{end box} External link The Deaths of Antiochus, Razias, and Nicanor, by Bede de:Antiochos IV. es:Antíoco IV Epífanes fr:Antiochos IV he:אנטיוכוס הרביעי nl:Antiochus IV Epiphanes ja:アンティオコス4世エピファネス pl:Antioch IV Epifanes ru:Антиох IV Епифан fi:Antiokhos IV uk:Антіох IV zh:安条克四世 Credits New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here: Antiochus IV Epiphanes  history The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia: History of "Antiochus IV Epiphanes" Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.